The Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines on Wednesday, accusing the carrier of "illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights."
Travel Advisor Success Story: Sue Passauer, MEI-Travel
07.01.2025 - 21:16 / travelpulse.com / Claudette Covey
Sue Passauer. (Source: Sue Passauer)
Success Stories focus on veteran advisors and how they achieved success. Here’s a look at Sue Passauer, an independent agent affiliated with MEI-Travel.
How did you get your start as a travel advisor?
My love for travel was fostered by my parents as we planned our yearly family trips. My mother was the always the lead planner for their group of friends, and I remember her going to the local travel agency and getting all the brochures and planning every step. The core memories we made as a family on those trips are ones that I will never forget, and I loved helping my mother plan those trips.
As with many advisors, my first love was Walt Disney World, which I first visited with my parents and brothers; and then as I grew up, with my children. This led to many friends coming to me as a Disney expert to assist in planning their trips –and I absolutely loved doing that for them.
A little over 11 years ago, I was introduced to Beci Mahnken, owner of MEI-Travel, during a trip to Walt Disney World. Beci and I had a wonderful conversation about travel and my previous travels growing up. At the time, she was looking for new agents and I was looking for a career change from the legal field. She encouraged me to apply with her agency and turn my love for travel into a career. To be honest, I never thought I would be hired!
From there, I took the chance, and MEI took a chance on me. I worked two jobs for many years before finally taking the leap and turning what I loved doing into a thriving business, allowing me to plan and curate special and sometimes once-in-a-lifetime itineraries for other families to experience. Simply put, if you can find something you love doing, you will never feel like you work a day in your life. I just wish I would have started earlier!
How did you build your business?
I have never had a large social media presence, but I do like to talk – ask anyone who knows me. I initially built – and continue to build my business – though of mouth. During my first week at the agency, I messaged every friend I had on Facebook and asked for their emails and then send out personal emails to each person telling them of my new career and asking to assist them with their travels, and for referrals from family and friends.
I never traveled without business cards and I was never scared to ask anyone to give me a chance and let me show the difference and advantages to working with a travel agent.
I also invested in becoming a part of communities and groups that I enjoyed and had common interests with, and got to know the members, who in turn asked me to assist them in planning their trips.
If you don’t preserve those relationships with clients, then the work you put in to
The website maxtravelz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Autors
Popular Topics
travelpulse.com
14.01.2025 / 21:03
Atlas Ocean Voyages Offering Free Airfare, $1,000 Gift Cards for Travel Advisors for 2025 Antarctica Cruises
Atlas Ocean Voyages is offering free roundtrip air on select Antarctica expedition cruises.
travelpulse.com
14.01.2025 / 21:03
Travel Advisors Discuss Their Jobs Being Named One of the Fastest Growing Careers
The rapid pace of change across the workplace in recent years has been daunting for workers.A series of recent reports from LinkedIn News revealed that not only do 64% of workers feel overwhelmed by the onslaught of workplace shifts, but worker confidence surrounding the ability to hold onto a job has reached historic lows.Meanwhile, some industries and professions are experiencing tremendous growth at the moment, or something of a renaissance, in some cases. And as it turns out, the travel advisor profession is among them.According to LinkedIn’s research, the travel advisor profession is the fifth fastest growing line of work among 25 of the quickest growing jobs in the United States.Landing on the list (and among the top five, no less) puts travel advisors in the same company as rapidly growing fields like artificial intelligence engineer, artificial intelligence consultant, physical therapist, and workforce development manager — lines of work that ranked in slots one through four, respectively.While the LinkedIn article doesn’t delve into what makes travel advisor jobs such a hot commodity right now, it does identify some of the tasks that come with the profession (in case you’re considering a career change), noting that “Travel advisors help plan and book travel arrangements — including transportation, accommodations and activities — based on clients’ preferences and budgets.”The most common skills required to be a travel advisor, according to LinkedIn, include: travel planning, travel writing, and social media marketing. And the most common industries where travel advisors are employed include travel arrangements, hospitality, and insurance.LinkedIn research also reveals that most travel advisor jobs can be found in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The travel advisor field is also dominated by women: It’s currently 80 percent female and 20 percent male.These LinkedIn insights merely scratch the surface, however, when it comes to the travel advisor profession and its powerful growth. The bigger question inspired by the ranking, perhaps, is what makes travel advisor such an appealing career at this moment in time? What is attracting people to the job in droves? And beyond that, what do individuals who are already in the field think about the ranking? To answer some of those additional questions, we reached out to travel advisors across the country.
euronews.com
13.01.2025 / 04:21
Ryanair sues passenger for €15,000 after flight was diverted due to ‘inexcusable behaviour’
Irish airline Ryanair is suing a passenger for €15,000 after unruly behaviour onboard one of its flights.
lonelyplanet.com
10.01.2025 / 17:31
Discover Nevada’s history on this epic road trip
Jan 10, 2025 • 7 min read
travelandleisure.com
09.01.2025 / 16:17
Los Angeles Residents Displaced by the Wildfires Can Get Free Housing on Airbnb — and Other Resources for Locals and Travelers in LA
As wildfires continue to burn across Los Angeles, we are gathering resources to help locals and travelers who are currently being displaced by the fires.
travelandleisure.com
08.01.2025 / 19:01
Airlines Issue Flight Waivers and Attractions Close Amid Devastating Wildfires in Los Angeles — What to Know
Major airlines issued flight alerts and people in Los Angeles scrambled to evacuate as an out-of-control wildfire raged in the southern California city on Wednesday.
matadornetwork.com
08.01.2025 / 10:35
How 3 Colorado Towns Are Working to Be Leaders in Accessible Travel
The state of Colorado is taking big strides to be more accessible, enjoyable, and inclusive of travelers with differing physical abilities. The Colorado Tourism Office, in partnership with Wheel the World, launched a pilot program this year to improve accessibility for travelers with disabilities. Three destinations — Beaver Creek Resort Company, Glenwood Springs Chamber of Commerce, and Pueblo Chamber of Commerce — were selected to receive on-site accessibility assessments, staff training, and marketing support in the final round of announcements made in November.
travelpulse.com
07.01.2025 / 21:15
Riviera River Cruises Rebrands As Riviera Travel
Riviera River Cruises is now Riviera Travel.
travelpulse.com
07.01.2025 / 21:15
The Can't-Miss Travel Deals for January 2025
The start of the new year is a time for resolutions, one of them being to travel more.
travelpulse.com
07.01.2025 / 21:15
HX Hosts Travel Advisors on ‘Phenomenal’ Galápagos Islands FAM Trips
Travel advisors had a chance to see the otherworldly landscapes and iconic animals of the Galápagos Islands during a series of recent FAM trips hosted by HX (formerly Hurtigruten Expeditions).
travelpulse.com
07.01.2025 / 21:15
Top Travel Industry Events for 2025
2025 is poised to be another colossal year for travel and tourism and many of those trips will include travel professionals such as advisors and suppliers and traversing the globe to meet and share ideas and insights.